Interview with INNOCEAN
INNOCEAN
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INNOCEAN
Multisensory brand strategies that connect
A marketing and communications company that operates around the globe, INNOCEAN – whose name is a memorable portmanteau of innovation and ocean – employs more than 4,100 people worldwide. It uses creative thinking, cutting-edge technology and precise data analytics to produce brand strategies with a frequently surprising, unconventional approach. The multisensory connection thus established between consumers and the brand puts the agency’s motto into practice: be agile, be brave, be confident!
About INNOCEAN
Our company, INNOCEAN, draws its inspiration from the fusion of “ocean” and “innovation”. This name embodies our core mission – to pioneer the global communications sector through innovative creativity and strategic ingenuity.
Global CEO, William Lee
Facts and figures
4k
Employees as of 202564
Distinctions since 20112005
Year of foundationAwarded projects 2025
Life-Saving Bathhouse
Communal bathing is widespread and extremely popular in South Korea. The country therefore has numerous public bathhouses. Like other industrialised nations, however, it also has an ageing population. It is thus hardly surprising that accidents in bathing facilities, some of them fatal, involve an increasing number of older people. The Life-Saving Bathhouse, developed by the INNOCEAN agency in collaboration with a team of architects and medics, addresses this issue. Initial research into the cau...
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Hyundai Heritage: Celebrating the 100 Million Vehicles Produced
Celebrating Hyundai’s milestone of 100 million vehicles, the brand campaign “One step further” visually showcases its brand development, innovation and sustainability. An exhibition, a campaign film and a merchandising collection of historic models employ clear imagery and iconic references to bring the development of the brand to life in an impressive manner.
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Night Fishing
In a world that is becoming increasingly sceptical about advertising, Hyundai broke with convention to focus on entertainment. “Night Fishing” by INNOCEAN was filmed exclusively with on-car cameras and cinema audiences loved it.
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Mobilet
Hyundai’s digital April Fool’s campaign Mobilet presents a self-driving toilet as a further development of autonomous driving. An AI-based user scenario with facial recognition, light-and-sound design and a stealth mode humorously conveys the manufacturer’s spirit of innovation with a playful and light-hearted charm.
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Timeless Moment
Timeless Moment uses the LED screen on the historic facade of the Shinsegae Department Store as a canvas for artistic storytelling instead of as a billboard. Anamorphic effects and timeless imagery inspired by Korean mother-of-pearl lacquerware bridge the gap between tradition and innovation and transform Shinsegae Square into a cultural media landmark.
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Life-Saving Bathhouse
The Life-Saving Bathhouse uses interior design to make safety intuitive for older guests. Anti-slip, edge-free surfaces, colour contrasts, acoustic signals and clearly visible, well-placed emergency call buttons incorporate important safety aspects into the interior design concept.
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HMGICS CX Area – Smart Farm
The HMGICS CX Area – Smart Farm translates Hyundai’s vision of the future into a spatial experience that combines technology, sustainability and education. Sinuous robotic guidance, glass housings and shades of steel and white characterise the centre’s high-precision, technical aesthetic, while natural materials and plants add warmth. A seed-to-table track illustrates how robotics and urban farming can complement each other in the future.
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Kia Exhibition Booth at ICN Airport
The exhibition space at Incheon Airport provides visitors with a spatial experience of Kia’s motto “Movement that inspires”. A double-skin structure made of micro mirrors and LEDs reacts to movement and produces dynamic reflections, while abstract visualisations of the city and nature illustrate the emotional aspects of mobility.
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HMGICS Na Oh Restaurant
The interior design of the Na Oh restaurant in the Hyundai Motor Group Innovation Center Singapore (HMGICS) is a fusion of Korean heritage and technological innovation. It combines traditional materials and artisanal references with insights into the high-tech environment of the smart Hyundai factory. The restaurant also spatially integrates the company’s seed-to-table concept into its design.
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Kia’s PV5 Story @Seoul Mobility Show 2025
The exhibition stand concept “Kia’s PV5 Story” offers visitors the chance to experience the mobility of the future in a playful exhibition staging. Characters that were developed in collaboration with Playmobil take the form of life-size figures and animations to demonstrate the usage scenarios of the new PV5, linking space, storytelling and merchandising to create easily accessible, emotional brand communication.
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Life-Saving Bathhouse
The Life-Saving Bathhouse shows how spatial design can offer older people enhanced safety. Anti-slip and edge-free floors, contrasting colours, low sightlines and clearly positioned emergency call buttons provide orientation and protection. These features, together with evenly maintained floor temperatures, acoustic signals and drinking stations, create an environment with significantly reduced risks.
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HMGICS Na Oh Restaurant
Na Oh translates Hyundai’s commitment to innovation into a spatial hospitality concept that combines tradition, technology and sustainability. Located near the highly automated smart factory, the restaurant presents a seed-to-table process with ingredients from the company’s own Smart Farm. The interior design combines artisanal and futuristic design elements.
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Night Fishing
The creatives at INNOCEAN broke new ground with “Night Fishing”, an experimental short film for IONIQ that transforms limitations into creative power and was filmed exclusively with on-car cameras.
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Kia’s PV5 Adventure
The brand film “Kia’s PV5 Adventure” uses playful, Playmobil-inspired computer animations to make the modular mobility concept of the PV5 understandable and present it in an emotionally appealing way. In the fictitious PV5 Town, character-based scenarios show how the vehicle visually and functionally adapts to different life situations.
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All-Rounder ROLLIO
The film “All-Rounder ROLLIO” gives the cylindrical travel bag a leading role as an independent character and translates its unusual shape into humorous, sitcom-like imagery. Vibrant colours, distinctive typography and dynamic motion graphics underscore the product’s special features in a clear and concise manner.
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BTS collaboration “Butter Recipe”
The film “Butter Recipe” translates the aesthetic imagery of the BTS hit “Butter” into a playful visual story for Samsonite RED. Bright red kitchen utensils form melting butter into iconic pieces of luggage, linking the gentle, flowing melody of the song to the clear, vividly coloured products.
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Greener Solutions at Sea
The sound design of the “Greener Solutions at Sea” campaign translates Hanwha’s commitment to maritime decarbonisation into an acoustic experience. A specially composed, shanty-inspired soundtrack with powerful melodies and metaphorical lyrics underscores the visual imagery of bioluminescence.
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Interview with INNOCEAN
Awarded projects since 2011
A Place of Inspiration – Kia Fair Stand CES 2024
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2024
Genesis GV60 – “Sound of Serenity” at Battersea Power Station
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2024
Hyundai 2024 Dogbility
Advertising
Red Dot 2024
Kia EV Unplugged Ground
Digital Solutions
Red Dot 2024
The City of Ease – Hyundai Fair Stand CES 2024
Fair Stands
Red Dot 2024
DAOL Digital Bank Fi – Money Perfume
Corporate Design & Identity
Red Dot 2023
MUSINSA Travel T-KET
Advertising
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2023
Wall of the Future
Advertising
Red Dot 2023
DAOL Digital Bank Fi – MONEY PERFUME
Integrated Campaigns
Red Dot 2023
Solar Beehive
Advertising
Red Dot 2023
Seoul Mobility Show 2023: Genesis Core Zone
Fair Stands
Red Dot 2023
KIA – The Limitless Brochure
Apps
Red Dot 2023
DAOL Digital Bank Fi – MONEY PERFUME
Apps
Red Dot 2023
The Limitless Brochure
Interface & User Experience Design
Red Dot 2023
MUSINSA Travel T-KET
Digital Solutions
Red Dot 2023
Kia EV6 Unplugged Ground
Brand Showroom
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2022
Dubai World Expo Korea Pavilion
Pavilion
Red Dot 2022
What Color for Tomorrow?
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2022
What Color for Tomorrow?
Sound Design
Red Dot 2022
What Color for Tomorrow?
Advertising
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2022
Hyundai at CES 2022
Fair Stands
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2022
Hydrogen Garbage Truck
Advertising
Red Dot 2022
Hydrogen Garbage Truck
Interface & User Experience Design
Red Dot 2022
Hydrogen Garbage Truck
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2022
A House Never Sleeps
Advertising
Red Dot 2022
A House Never Sleeps
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2022
Kia Moving Inspiration Project
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2022
Moving Inspiration Project
Advertising
Red Dot 2022
Mask ID
Interface & User Experience Design
Red Dot 2022
Kia
Corporate Design & Identity
Red Dot 2022
Solar Boat: Clean Up Mekong
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2021
#ThisIsUS. Humanity prevails.
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2021
Little Big e-Motion
Film & Animation
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2021
Second First Steps
Advertising
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2020
Second First Steps
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2020
Aekyung Tower
Headquarters
Red Dot 2019
The new Kia ProCeed – Bold Move
Online
Red Dot 2019
BEAT360
Showroom
Red Dot 2018
The Kia Stinger. Long live driving.
Advertising
Red Dot 2018
Hyundai Pavilion Pyeongchang Winter Olympics 2018
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2018
Genesis Gangnam Showroom
Retail Design
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2018
Pioneers
Film & Animation
Red Dot 2018
Sculpture in Motion 2.0 – The Helio Curve
Spatial Communication
Red Dot 2015
Vision Hall, Hyundai Motor Group University, Mabuk Campus, South Korea
Event Design
Red Dot 2013
FLUIDIC – Sculpture in Motion
Event Design
Red Dot 2013
Who Am We?
TV, Film, Cinema & Animation
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2013
Mobius Loop
Corporate Films
Red Dot: Best of the Best 2013
